非洲風情：加納─失落的國父光環

夸梅．恩克魯瑪曾是黃金海岸統一大會黨的秘書長。1948年，他發起反殖民者的茅茅運動，遭到大英帝國囚禁。由於不滿黨內溫和立場，轉而成立人民大會黨。

恩克魯瑪深信，只要非洲各國領袖重奪政權，民眾的其他願景將會隨即實現。政治主張引起舉國上下共鳴，使他在1952年順利當選總理。但是在他管治下，國內的政治體制和經濟發展未如理想，逐漸失去人民的支持。

西非的加納在1957年獨立，恩克魯瑪開始控制國內經濟活動。可惜，經濟改革令到國家負債累累。不少企業和農民被迫繳付重稅，加深了人民對政府的不滿。

政治改革方面，他在1958年頒布法律，禁止一切罷工活動。所有社運人士，在未經審訊下可即時監禁五年。國家一度任命酋長收集民意，以舒緩各地的民怨。可惜為時已晚，恩克魯瑪最終在1966年的政變中被推翻。

非洲的暴政並非命中注定。非洲去殖民化在五十年代起開始，各國沉醉於獨立浪潮，人民把美好願景寄託在國父身上。不幸地，首代總統往往未能善用這股號召力。中央集權管治連番失敗，失望的人民只能摒棄政權。

Ghana - The Powerless Founding Father

Kwame Nkrumah used to be the general secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). After imprisonment by the British Empire in 1948, he became impatient with the UGCC’s moderate stance.

He established the Convention People’s Party, and believed “once the colonial state has been transferred to African hands, all else would follow”. He became the prime minister, yet overestimated the support for transformation.

Following independence in 1957, Nkrumah started to control economic activity. But the economic reform plunged the country into debt. It also frustrated business leaders and farmers, whose surpluses were taken away.

The Trade Union Act was enacted and strikes became illegal. Activists could be detained for 5 years without trial. State-appointed chiefs failed to control the chronic rage. Nkrumah was overthrown in a coup in 1966.

Immersed by a wave of euphoria following independence, Africans entrusted a better system by their nationalist leaders. Tyranny in Africa is not determined by fate. In turn, it was the centralized control that failed the public.

名稱：非洲民主：成功、失敗與政治改革的鬥爭 (暫譯) (Democracy in Africa: Successes, Failures, and the Struggle for Political Reform)

作者：Nic Cheeseman

年份：2015

出版地：美國

出版社：劍橋大學出版社

類別：非洲政治

評分：7/10

IMG: https://theconversation.com/ghana-lessons-from-nkrumahs-fallout-with-his-economic-adviser-53233